Aftermath
by River Eagle
Summary: Short moments of Jeff with other characters a week after the events in the movie.  Rated for the mild language.
1. John

**_ John_**

_Based off the 2004 movie_

Jeff woke with a start. His mind kept replaying the images he'd seen in the Bank of London. Oh, god, if he lost his son that day, he didn't know if he had the strength to go on. He wasn't afraid of losing his own life, and he almost had earlier the same day, but losing any one of his sons would simply break him. He looked to his bedside clock-radio. 4:07 am. That meant he'd only gotten three hours sleep. He leaned back on his pillows and thought about the dream that woke him.

The thought of losing Alan, though, had simply scared him shitless. He had come close to losing his own life and the lives of his four oldest sons (he didn't dare think of what that would have meant for Alan) but to have witnessed his youngest son nearly die at the hand of a monster tore at the father's heart. Jeff sat and slid his legs over the side of his bed. Running a hand over his face, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He didn't think he could go back to sleep. Not after the nightmares that plagued him day and night for the last week. He gave off a dry laugh and stopped when he felt the same lump of emotions rise in his chest. It was a miracle that he actually had gotten any sleep after receiving that first distress call from John.

Slipping on his slippers, he made his way to his bedroom door. He pulled on his robe and was tying it up as he exited his suite. Maybe a coffee would help him settle his raging thoughts. He didn't want to face another day like last week. No parent would.

Jeff made his way downstairs and to the kitchen. It was no surprise that John was also making his way to the kitchen. Of all his sons, Jeff thought that perhaps John suffered from nightmares worse than the other boys. It could have been due to the fact John had been with Lucy just moments before she had died or perhaps because as a child, John had suffered from more nightmares than the other boys. Of course, that was as far as Jeff was concerned.

"Trouble sleeping, son?"

John nodded and rubbed his face. The twenty-four-year-old didn't speak, but Jeff knew his second oldest well enough to know that the boy would open up eventually. They both entered the kitchen and Jeff told his son to take a seat. "Hot chocolate or coffee?" the patriarch asked.

"Coffee," John replied after a moment. "I don't think I'll be sleeping again tonight."

Jeff busied himself around the kitchen. At least, around the areas he knew, which was the tap for boiling water, where the cups and the tea, coffee and other hot drinks were kept. He soon had two cups of coffee ready and he joined his son sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Handing one to John, he took a sip off his own.

"Care to tell me about it?" Jeff asked.

"I keep thinking about last week. What if you hadn't made it?"

"I ask myself that each day since I allowed you boys to join me with the Thunderbirds." Jeff cupped his hands around the mug he was holding. "I try not to think about what would happen if one of our rescues lead to one of you losing your lives. Last week came too close to home."

John frowned and took in his father's worried look. "Dad, we know the risks."

Jeff looked at his son and shook his head. "I don't think you realise what it would do to me if I lost one of you boys." The platinum blond was about to say something when the father cut him off. "I was terrified I would lose you, John. I left here with the other boys to come and get you, only to nearly lose my life along with four of my children. I've never been so scared in my whole life. All I could think about when we were trapped was what would happen to Alan if we didn't make it."

John looked down at his coffee cup. He couldn't continue to hold his father's intense stare. He'd been scared he wouldn't make it and see his little brother again, but was sure that the Thunderbirds would be able to pull off a rescue. Then they'd all been trapped on the space station. He hadn't really thought that far ahead past the continued lack of oxygen. He hadn't really considered what would have happened if Alan had lost all of them, and was unable to properly burry them. "Dad, I don't want to go back to the station," he admitted quietly. "I mean, I still love the stars, but having almost lost my life..." he trailed off and was unsure of how he could continue. He didn't want to look at his father's face, just in case he saw disappointment written there.

When Jeff next spoke, he surprised his son. "I'm not surprised, son. At the present, I don't want to be there either. But life must go on. We're going to rebuild and someway, we'll make it so whoever is on the space station is better protected from missiles and meteors."

John looked up from his drink and gave Jeff a shaky smile. "Thanks, Dad. Maybe someday I could make myself go back up there."

"But right now the memories are too fresh." Jeff sighed and finished off his cup of coffee. He decided not to refill his mug. Walking to the sink, the man rinsed the cup out and placed it in the sink. "You remember what I was like after we lost your mother?" Jeff was looking out the window just above the sink and out over the Pacific Ocean. He didn't wait for an answer but continued on. "Losing her was like having a hole punched in my gut. I survived, but only barely. The thought of losing any one of you boys is ten times worse. I don't know if I could move past having to bury one of you."

"You don't know that, Dad."

"Damn it, John. I almost lost you. I almost lost Alan!"

John looked taken aback. He'd never heard his father swear before. What did his father mean? Of course, the spaceman knew he'd nearly lost his life on Thunderbird 5. And that his father and three of his brothers had almost died up there too. Maybe that was what Jeff had meant. It couldn't be anything else, unless... the Hood tried to do something in the Bank of London? No. That wasn't it because those that were in the vault had filled in the others as to what had happened. Nothing had happened to Alan, other than the fact he'd saved the Hood from falling to his death.

"But you didn't, Dad. We're still here."

"For which I am entirely grateful. It's going to take a while to get over last week's events though. For all of us." Jeff turned to face his second born and gave him a watery smile. "I'm going to do some work in my office. Will you be fine?"

John laughed tightly. Neither man was really up to a lot of mirth. "Yeah. I think I'm going to start on my next book."


	2. Tin Tin

_**Tin Tin**_

Jeff leaned on the balcony outside his office, looking southeast over the island and down toward the pool area. He could see his second youngest doing laps in the lower pool. Stifling a yawn, the patriarch looked at his watch. It had just gone 10:15am and he'd only had the one cup of coffee at 4:20 with John that morning. He heard a knock on his office door and he turned to head back indoors. Calling out that the door was open, Jeff moved to his desk. Tin Tin entered, carrying a tray. Jeff couldn't help but smile at the Malaysian girl as she set the tray with a few of Onaha's cookies and a cup of coffee on his desk.

"Thank you, Tin Tin," the billionaire said. Tin Tin returned his smile. The man frowned when he realised that the young girl was nervous around him. Before the Bank of London, she hadn't been nervous of him. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Mr Tracy, did you really mean what you said?" She finally made herself look up at the businessman and only saw confusion written on his face. "Last week, after we came back to the Island."

"About the Thunderbirds needing you, Fermat and Alan? I rarely say things I don't mean." Jeff smiled, trying to put the fifteen-year-old at ease. It didn't work as well as he'd hoped. He picked up the cup of coffee she'd brought and took a sip.

Tin Tin shifted uncomfortably under Jeff's scrutiny. "I heard about some of your arguments with Alan. Sometimes we can't control what we say, or who we are..."

Jeff's eyes widened in surprise. As far as he could recall, Tin Tin had not even mentioned her relation to the Hood or what that entailed. He sighed and put his cup down. "You are right in saying that, Tin Tin. I know better than most I've let my temper get the best of me. And you can't help who you're related to, but do you want to know something? I am glad you were there. I nearly stopped breathing when I heard you cry out, but you have to be one of the bravest women I know. You saved my son, and in doing that, you have helped keep this family together. If Alan..." Jeff trailed off and looked back out his office windows. He didn't really understand why he was telling Tin Tin these things, but like all the staff he employed on the island, she was easily trusted. He swallowed hard. Sometimes he forgot Tin Tin was only fifteen, and as such, he treated her much older. Perhaps it was because the only company she kept near her own age was his own boys. He sighed and turned back to look at her. "I don't really want to think about what would've happened if you hadn't been there, Tin Tin."

"Do you really mean that, Mr Tracy?"

Jeff nodded. "You mean a lot to this family. All of your family does. I think of you as the daughter I never had." He gave her a rare smile. He had hardly smiled all week. "Don't ever doubt what you mean to me and the boys. You are so much better than the Hood, just because you have your parents, and you have us. If ever you need us, we'll be there for you."

Tin Tin smiled fully. "Thanks Mr Tracy." She looked down at the tray she had brought and continued, "Mom said that lunch would be at the usual time, so don't work yourself too hard."

Jeff nodded and sat at his desk. "Do thank Onaha for me." He held up a cookie just as Tin Tin was at the door and then took a bite. The girl smiled at him and left him to his work.

The businessman ran a hand over his face and leaned back on his chair. He was really thankful for Tin Tin, Kyrano and Onaha. To him, it didn't matter in the slightest that they were related to the Hood. The abilities that Tin Tin had shown in the Bank of London had unnerved him when he first thought back on those events (in fact, if he was honest, they still did a bit), but without them, he wasn't sure if Alan would still be alive. And that would have just broken him. If Alan had died, he wouldn't stop blaming himself. The other boys would blame him...

Jeff shuddered. He didn't want to think about what would happen, but each night the same nightmare plagued him. Or similar. One was where Alan was left alone, and the other (both equally terrifying) was where he had to witness his baby, his last gift and surprise from his late wife. He looked down at the photograph on his desk, the last one taken of Lucy with the boys.

He was pulled from his morbid thoughts when the klaxon sounded. Quickly stacking the papers he was working on (for Tracy Enterprises), he placed his hand on the security device that converted his office to the Command and Control Centre. As the room changed, the five boys, plus Tin Tin, Brains and Fermat, reported for duty.

Jeff quickly scanned the incoming report. "Okay boys. All hands on deck. There's a raging fire in a warehouse, North Dakota. The fire department are hard pressed to get it under control and are afraid of the fire spreading to the bushland. Suit up and let's go."

All five boys nodded and headed to their respective portraits. Jeff gave them a tight smile and watched as they disappeared down to their 'birds. _ Please be with them, Lucy. Don't let them get hurt..._


	3. Virgil

_**Virgil**_

_"What was Mom like?" _Alan kept asking over and over in his mind. The boys had been back from their latest rescue just in time for dinner and Jeff was exhausted.

They'd had a quiet dinner after the boys had cleaned up and they left for various parts of the villa. Alan, Tin Tin and Fermat had decided to head down to the recreation room to watch a movie. Gordon had decided to join them. John and Virgil were together somewhere (Jeff wasn't exactly sure where they'd disappeared to) and Scott had decided to tune up one of the jets. Onaha and Kyrano were busy in the kitchen and Brains had gone down to his lab.

Picking up his last coffee of the day, Jeff decided to go and finish off the paperwork for Tracy Enterprises he'd begun that morning. It wasn't long after he'd arrived at his office that Virgil entered. Looking up from the paperwork, Jeff gave his middle son a tired smile. "How can I help, son?"

Virgil shifted slightly before meeting his father's gaze. "What really happened in the bank?"

The older Tracy frowned and asked, "What brought this on?"

"Something you said to John this morning. We all watched the security vids once we got back here and we know Alan, Tin Tin and Fermat were at risk but it was nothing they didn't handle." Virgil sighed and looked over the mural he'd painted not long after they'd moved to the island. "From what I can guess, you weren't talking about what happened here. That only leaves what happened at the bank."

Jeff looked his artist over and followed his son with a sigh. Running a hand over his tired features, the man dropped the pen on the desk. "Sometimes I forget you're not little boys anymore."

"Why won't you tell us, Dad? What could have been so bad that it keeps Alan from sleeping at night?" When it was clear Jeff wasn't going to answer straight away, Virgil pressed on. "Why else do you think John was awake so early? He and I woke to Alan crying out this morning. Other than Mom, John was the only one that Alan felt he could talk to about his nightmares."

Finally, Jeff broke his silence. "I never knew."

"That's just it, Dad. None of us really paid much attention to Allie. John understands Allie's fears better than the rest of us because both of them are not on the Island full time like us. They feel isolated sometimes." The twenty-two-year-old scuffed his feet and moved to the couch. "John and I saw the tape."

Jeff felt himself freeze. What tape? Surely his son didn't mean the one of the bank robbery from the week before? "What on earth are you talking about?"

Without looking at his father, Virgil answered, "The one from the bank. Lady P sent it over. We couldn't really see what was happening between Alan and the Hood, but we had a clear picture of the cage that bastard..."

"Language!"

"I'm not going to apologise for calling that monster what he is. He nearly killed us, Dad, and from the desperation written on yours and Lady P's faces, he must have nearly killed Alan in the bank. Now are you going to tell us what the hell happened last week?"

Jeff scowled at his middle son's language just as John entered the room. The second eldest had been waiting just outside the door and had only just worked up his courage to face his father (not that John would admit he was afraid of his father, but more of the fact he was afraid to find out what exactly had happened to his baby brother). The Tracy patriarch sighed. "Is this going to be a family conference without Alan?" he asked in defeat.

"No. Just us," John replied. "If we think copper top and smother hen need to be briefed, Virg or I can deal with it. We just want to know what's going on. What happened, Dad?"

"Where do you want me to start?"

"From the point you yelled out Alan's name. Up until then, we got the basic story," Virgil said. "You'd left us to clean up the rescue zone and had taken Alan, Tin Tin, Fermat and Lady P to confront the Hood. Parker was looking after the kids as you went on ahead. What happened next?"

Jeff sighed and looked out of his office window, unable to bring himself to look at his sons. His mind was transported back to the vault of the Bank of London. "Penny and I found the Hood with the Mole. Mullion and Transom were somewhere else in the bank. He managed to trap me in the cage with Penny and then began to threaten us with his plans for the 'birds." He lifted his coffee mug up and gave himself some time to think. The two younger Tracys looked at each other and then back at their father. Neither were quite sure what had happened next but what they had seen (and heard) on the tape, they knew it wasn't good. "Alan ran in. Somehow he'd escaped Parker and left Tin Tin and Fermat behind. From the look on Alan's face, he'd come in guns blazing without a solid plan." Jeff smiled slightly to himself before becoming sombre again. "Something Lucy did often." The boys heard their father swallow another mouthful of coffee before the older man continued. "He saw me and Penny trapped and the Hood just outside. The Hood wanted Alan to doubt his value and to discredit me in my son's eyes. When Alan wouldn't give in, the Hood somehow managed to lift my baby off the ground and proceeded to choke him. Oh, god. Seeing Alan choking like that nearly knocked the breath out of me. I was helpless and so scared. The Hood must have realised that loosing Alan would destroy me."

"Dad," John cut in and looked at Virgil. "We could see what it would have done to you. Your fear was written all over your face. Hell, it would have destroyed us if the Hood actually managed to kill Alan. He's our glue."

Virgil gave a tentative smile. "At least it would explain why Alan needed oxygen on the ride back. And the Hood didn't succeed, did he?"

Jeff turned to look at his second oldest and middle children. "That wasn't the last of it boys. Once the Hood had released his hold on Alan, the man got himself up on the catwalk about the mole. I was relived for the few moments Alan took to recover but a whole new sense of dread had already taken over me. Alan was still going after that monster and there was nothing I could do but to watch as my baby raced full speed into a deathtrap."

John gasped and Virgil closed his eyes. "Please don't tell us Alan climbed up the Mole with some psycho with psychic powers on the loose?"

Jeff swallowed and nodded slowly. "Alan said he knew the Hood's weakness and that the man couldn't last much longer. Penny and I both knew Alan couldn't either. Alan had just reached the top of the Mole's turbines when the Hood started them up. We called out to him and he just managed to grab the edge of the catwalk before they'd completely started up. The Hood gloated that he was happy, (_happy!_) that I was there to see Alan die." The man took in a shuddering breath. "If I hadn't suffered enough already, the Hood was determined that I would lose a son that day. John, I almost lost you on Thunderbird Five. Alan almost lost his life here on the Island with Tin Tin and Fermat. My entire staff had been locked in the freezer while the Hood took off with Thunderbird Two. And then at the bank, Alan was almost killed twice by the same man who destroyed our home."

"How did Alan survive?"

"Tin Tin. She distracted the Hood and managed to alter the catwalk so Alan was safe and Trangh was hanging above the Mole." At the confused looks sent his way by his sons, Jeff said, "The Hood's name is Trangh Belagant. Kyrano told me after we came back."

"And Alan decided to save the bastard instead of letting him die?" Virgil asked.

"I'm impressed," John decided. "We may hate the guy, but personally, I'd hate to have someone's death on my conscious if I had the power to save them."

Jeff gave his sons a tight smile. "That's what Alan said. I couldn't have been prouder."

"Thanks for being honest with us, Dad. I can understand what you said this morning," John said. "And it's better to know this from you when trying to help Alan and not knowing what happened."

"Alan has nightmares often?"

John nodded. "It's hard you know. Being away from the island and not knowing if you're going to make it back okay. Alan always called me after a rescue, just to make sure you got home safe."

"I'm sorry..." Jeff began and Virgil felt guilty.

John held up a hand. "There's no point apologising, Dad. I told Sprout that the only reason he was at boarding school was for your peace of mind. You didn't need to be worrying about him out on the field. I can understand that and I was the one who chose to be on Thunderbird Five. But sometimes I think the rest of you forget that we are a part of this family too and we do worry about you. Alan feels left out and has to put up with teasing and bullying when he comes home for breaks. He calls me when it gets a bit much for him to handle."

"It hasn't been easy for him, has it?" Jeff asked with a sigh.

"It doesn't help when we treat him like a kid," John replied. "He may be fourteen, but this last week has shown us he's not a little kid anymore."

Virgil looked a lot guiltier at John's comment. While the family was trapped on Five, he'd been one of the first to ridicule his youngest brother, along with Gordon. Jeff had shot them down with his sharp reply that Alan was a Tracy. The teen had proved that to all of his older brothers by saving them and then rescuing the monorail in the Themes. He'd also gone head to head with the Hood, not once but twice, proving that not only was he a Tracy, he was Lucy's son.

"But we can change that," Jeff said. "We'll prove it to Alan that he is important to us and doesn't have to be alone."

Virgil finally allowed himself to smile. "I know how we can start. Dad, Alan has a few days left of vacation. Why not head back early, just you and him? Spend a day or two just doing something together. I'm sure the rest of us can handle the family business while you're gone."

Jeff smiled tiredly. "I'd like that. Maybe even take Alan some places Lucy liked." He looked over his two sons and yawned. "No one's really talked about her with Alan." Standing up, Jeff decided that his paperwork could wait until the morning. "Have a good night boys. I'm going to find Alan."

As Jeff left his office, John and Virgil looked at each other. They decided that no matter what had happened in the past week, their family would come out stronger for it. And things were looking good in the argument department. John knew most of the arguments between Jeff and Alan were the result of Alan not feeling wanted and Jeff was about to go and change that.

Things may not have been perfect at the moment, but things were getting better. Both John and Virgil were sure of that.

Thunderbirds are go, full speed ahead.

**_AN: This is the end of this fic. If anyone wants to add other one shots to this, they are more than welcome. Just let me know if you post anything by PM me. River Hobbit out. _**


End file.
